Until 2008, internationals from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Kosovar government were responsible for governing Kosovo together. This made it difficult for citizens to hold either accountable in meeting women’s needs. Despite the existence of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, neither international nor Kosovar institutions ensured women’s participation in the initial negotiations over Kosova’s political status.

After the declaration of independence of Kosovo in 2008, circumstances changed and KWN slowly gained more access to institutions through its advocacy initiatives; now institutions regularly including KWN in drafting key legislation affecting women. Despite some accomplishments, much work remains to further women’s participation in politics and decision-making processes.

Women are virtually absent from decision-making positions within political parties. Women do not comprise 40% of appointed decision-making positions in accordance with the Law on Gender Equality. Further women still depend largely on the quota for securing 30% of the seats in the Parliament and municipal assemblies.

KWN’s Strategy

This Program’s long-term goalis that women participate actively in politics and decision-making at the municipal and national levels. The planned outcome is that women’s participation in politics and decision-making in municipal and national levels is increased and improved.

Through this Program, KWN organizes Gender Equality Advocacy Groups that bring together women in politics and civil society to advocate for issues of shared concern; brings women politicians and women voters together in non-partisan dialogue; supports women in identifying and advocating for their policy priorities; examines Kosovo’s budget from a gender perspective; and monitors the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Kosovo.

On International Women’s Day Mar. 8, the Ministry for the Kosovo Security Forces (MKSF) and the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) organized a meeting with all civilian and military women serving in the Ministry and KSF at “Adem Jashari” Land Force Command (LFC). Participants included: MKSF Minister Agim Çeku, COMKSF Lt. Gen. Kadr...

KWN’s ten years of advocacy for creating a National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Kosovo have finally paid off. On 29 Jan., the Government approved the Action Plan for the Implementation of Resolution 1325 in the Republic of Kosova.
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Valentina Bunjaku-Rexhepi has been elected to head the Assembly of Gjilan. This is the first time that this post has been held by a woman within this Municipality.
KWN representatives visited Mrs. Bunjaku-Rexhepi on 27 Jan., to congratulate her.
“Mostly, I have been elected by women, and I will commit to furthering gender equality in our Mu...

KWN has contributed to a broader research initiative monitoring the implementation of United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, published by the European Peace building Liaison Office (EPLO) in 2013.
Following its prior monitoring exercises, such as 1325 Facts and Fables, KWN’s most recent c...

Women’s rights organizations from Kosovo, Serbia and Sweden, including KWN, Mitrovica Women’s Association for Human Rights, Women in Black and Kvinna till Kvinna sent a letter to High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European External Action Service (EEAS), Baroness Catherine Ashton on 4 De...

For the first time since Kosovo’s Independence citizens have elected a woman to serve them as Mayor. A Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) delegation visited Mrs. Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the new Mayor of the Municipality of Gjakova on 20 January.
“Mrs. Kusari-Lila is legendary,” activists said. “She broke the i...

Women’s rights activists from Kosovo, Serbia and Sweden sent a letter to High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, EEAS, Baroness Catherine Ashton on 4 Dec. regarding failures to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security during the ongoing talks between Kosovo and Se...

In 2011, KWN sought to revolutionize the way in which women’s organizations monitor, report on and advocate for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Following its two under-read monitoring reports on UNSCR 1325’s implementation in Kosovo, KWN decided to write 1325 Fa...

In March and April 2004, KWN, the Coalition for Electoral Law Reform, Reforma 2004, KACI Network and Kosova Women’s Lobby participated in a Kosova-wide campaign to advocate for a new electoral system. It included writing letters to key local and international decision-makers, meetings, a media campaign, press conferences, TV debates, a public...

On 8 July, the new coalition to reform the election system organized a roundtable on the subject of election trends in Kosova and proposed changes to the current electoral system. KWN participated in the organizing committee, cooperating to prepare a broad coalition similar to the Reforma 2004 coalition, which sought to change the electoral system ...

The “Get Out the Vote” Campaign in September and October 2004 encouraged greater voter participation in the October 23rd elections. The campaign was funded by the Kosovo NGO Advocacy Project (KNAP) in close cooperation with the National Democratic
Institute (NDI). The campaign increased voter participation and improved citizens’ ...

In November, KWN cooperated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and UNIFEM to educate voters about the new election system in Kosova and women candidates running for office. KWN member organizations arranged for meetings attended by more than a thousand citizens representing all ethnic groups throughout Kosova. Durin...

On 10 December 2011, KWN released its latest publication 1325 Facts & Fables: A collection of stories about the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Kosovo.
KWN did not initially plan to conduct additional research on 1325. However, via voluntary efforts from committed interns and ad...

Through the “Voters’ Voice” project, launched on 16 September, voters contacted KWN to make complaints and suggestions about politicians or policies at the municipal or national level. Citizens could call anonymously a toll-free number every working day from 9:00 to 17:00, send an email or attend public meetings. The project recei...

Starting in June, a KWN research team interviewed key figures from Kosovar public life to document and assess the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Kosova. Their research included interviews with local politicians, civil society activists, UNMIK staff, and other leading figures. The research attempted to determine if the resolution on women, peace an...

KWN was very active in reviewing Kosova’s draft constitution from a gender perspective and making recommendations to the Commission for Drafting the Constitution. KWN involved its member organizations, activists and citizens to make recommendations to the Committee. Members of the Committee, legal experts, gender experts and EU representative...

On 16 February 2011, in Hotel Prishtina, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized a “Women and Politics” roundtable with visiting Albanian women leaders. The aim of the Albanian delegation comprised of 23 women from political parties, women’s forums, civil society and media, was to exchange experiences in politics, challe...

On 5 Dec. 2007, KWN publicly released its report Monitoring Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in Kosovo at the Grand Hotel in Prishtina. This research report resulted from interviews with key figures in public life in Kosova, including politicians, civil society activists, UNMIK staff and other persons in leading pos...

The Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) Political Parties Work for Women Campaign aimed to incorporate women’s preferences and ideas into political parties’ electoral platforms for the 2004 general elections. To do this, from November 2003 through March 2004, the Network organized meetings with women from all of Kosova’s 30 municip...

Women Peace and Security Delegation experts from Kosovo visited Brussels in the end of November 2012. The delegation involved Suzana Novoberdaliu, Member of the Parliament of Republic of Kosovo and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons and Petitions; Edona Hajrullahu, Chief Executive Officer of the A...

In April 2005, women activists from the region gathered in Skopje, Macedonia with support from UNIFEM to share information and strategize about how to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in the region. This came after two prior meetings on the same topic in Prishtina in January 2004 and Sar...

On 19 April, at the “Summit of Women for Sustainable Peace in South East Europe,” the Regional Women’s Lobby for Peace and Security in South East Europe, including women politicians and civil society representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and Kosova, met in Vienna. During the ...

The Kosova Women’s Network cooperated with Women in Black Network Serbia to form the Women’s Peace Coalition on 7 May 2006. The coalition, comprised of activists from Kosova and Serbia, seeks to make women’s perspectives more visible in the political affairs of Serbia and Kosova. Striving toward just and sustainable peace, the Wom...

A continuation of KWN’s earlier Political Parties Work for Women Campaign, the Women Propose Campaign continued to promote greater and more effective participation of women in the fall 2004 elections, both as voters and as candidates from all political parties. The campaign consisted of a series of public meetings that brought together women ...